How is the U.S. national economy different from those of other nations?

The national economy of the United States differs from the economies of other countries in rather different ways. The difference between the economy of the US and that of North Korea, for example, is rather different than the difference between the US economy and that of Germany. Let us look at two ways in which the US economy differs from those of other countries.

First, the US economy is largely a post-industrial economy. In the US, the great majority of economic activity consists of services. Services make up close to 80% of the GDP of the US. By contrast, the economy of China is much more oriented to industry. China’s service sector only makes up about 45% of its GDP.

Second, the US economy is fairly liberalized. What that means is that there is relatively little government intervention in the economy. For example, in the United States, it is very easy for companies to hire and fire employees. This is in contrast even to developed countries like Japan where there are many laws that make it very hard for employers to lay employees off or fire them. This is in even greater contrast to countries like China, where the government actually owns many of the biggest companies in the country and in which the government plays a strong role in directing economic activity.

Thus, the US economy differs from other countries’ economies in a variety of ways.